2/9/26 Successes and Challenges to Ectomycorrhizal Mushroom Cultivation

Attempts to cultivate mushrooms of ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) over the past fifty years have encountered many challenges while producing small gains, yet the unique potential benefits of EMF mushroom cultivation systems are driving cultivation research programs forward. During this presentation, various methods that have been developed for producing ectomycorrhizae on suitable hosts will be presented. Furthermore, cultivation case studies for three different EMF species –chanterelle, saffron milk cap, North American pecan truffle–will be reviewed, highlighting the challenges and successes experienced by researchers in this nascent field as they seek to achieve unprecedented mastery in mushroom cultivation. Ryan Franke grew up in Eagan, MN, and learned to revere the natural world at a young age. During a fall camping trip around Lake Superior in 2015, he became fascinated with fungi and shortly thereafter joined the Minnesota Mycological Society. His fascination with fungi mushroomed after joining the society, opening a gourmet mushroom cultivation business in 2017, editing the MMS newsletter from 2018-2020, and most recently joining the mycology-focused Forest Pathology Lab at the UMN in 2023. Ryan is also involved in research on biological control of invasive buckthorn with native fungi. Read about his research here: https://mitppc.umn.edu/research/resea... FOR MORE INFORMATION University of Minnesota: College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, Plant Pathology: https://plpa.cfans.umn.edu/news/buckt...